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Northwood man charged with threatening to kill judge

BRENTWOOD — A Northwood man is being held on charges he threatened to kill a circuit court judge if he was not freed on bail after allegedly violating a protective order.

John Dembkoski, 63, also told a corrections officer while being booked at the Rockingham County jail that he was going to kill his wife and was compiling a "hit list," Rockingham Sheriff Deputy Raymond Berube said in a sworn affidavit.

Dembkoski is facing charges of harm or threats to certain government officials and criminal threatening.

Court records filed in 10th Circuit Court did not name a specific judge, but the charge is a Class A felony punishable by up to 7½ to 15 years in state prison.

Dembkowski's alleged statements to a corrections officer apparently didn't help him walk out of county jail.

He was initially held on $25,000 cash on a charge of violating a protective order. Now he must post an additional $50,000 cash or surety on the new charges stemming from his alleged threats, court records say.

He was arraigned on the latest charges on Wednesday.

The sheriff's department began investigating the alleged threatening statements shortly after Dembkoski was arrested by Exeter police on Jan.17 on charges of violating a protective order, according to court records.

Exeter police brought Dembkoski to the Rockingham County jail after he was arrested about 6:30 p.m., court records say.

About 10 minutes into the booking process, Dembkoski told Corrections Officer Jonathan Banville "that he was going to kill his wife when he leaves the jail," Berube said in the affidavit.

Dembkoski also "stated to the corrections officer that if the judge does not let him out on Tuesday, he was going to kill the judge as well."

He then told Banville that he "was compiling a hit list," according to the affidavit.

Dembkoski's arrest comes days after another man was sentenced in Rockingham County to 7 to 14 years in state prison for threatening to kill Family Court Judge Paul Moore. Gregory Gifford, 48, threatened to kill Moore after the judge gave guardianship of his 4-year-old son to another family member.